₦airaland Forum

oyeb15:
APC will rather paint their collapsing building with expensive paint than renovating it.

BreakingNews21:
Bags of rice giving political season has commenced very early in this election cycle .

Nonexisting1:
Not surprised. Wake me up when PDP in Kano defects to APC.

Backbone Infrastructure Nigeria Limited has announced plans to build a $15bn refinery with a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day and establish a Free Trade Zone in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The mega project, billed for the Sunshine Industrial Park in Ogboti-Eruuna and the proposed Sunshine Free Trade Zone, will be delivered through a joint venture between BINL and the Ondo State Government, represented by the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency.

In a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, the company said the project would be executed in phases, beginning with a 100,000BPD modular refinery. The first phase is expected to be completed within 48 months.

According to the firm, preliminary talks are ongoing with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to explore a potential partnership that will support the delivery of the refinery.

The Vice President of Corporate Services at BINL, Wale Adekola, said the refinery would produce refined petroleum products for local consumption, provide feedstock for domestic industries, and also serve international markets.

“This is a game-changing industrial project that will help reduce Nigeria’s trade deficit, conserve scarce foreign exchange, and boost government revenues. At the state and local levels, we are confident that it will stimulate job creation and drive economic activity,” he said.

The refinery project, he noted, would include the construction of critical supporting infrastructure such as roads, storage tanks, loading bays, terminals, and handling equipment.

The free trade zone development will involve the creation of facilities and infrastructure to support commercial and industrial operations in line with international best practices.

Adekola said the initiative would be backed by a comprehensive governance framework and compliance with all relevant environmental and social regulations.

He disclosed that BINL has scheduled a courtesy visit to the Ondo State Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on July 14, ahead of the formal signing of Memoranda of Understanding between both parties on July 15.

The company said the project would prioritise Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, including education programmes, local employment quotas, and infrastructure development in host communities.

“Beyond the economics, we are deeply committed to community development. Our CSR plan focuses on education, social infrastructure, and stakeholder engagement to ensure inclusive benefits and avoid potential resistance,” Adekola added.

BINL is a multi-sectoral infrastructure development company with operational bases in Abuja, London, and Zug, Switzerland.

Adexgentle005:
Why is he serving food or is this Ai? I don’t understand.

Exousiang01:
I think Adeleke might be dancing his way out of the government house real soon.

Report has it that the guy has done more of dancing than governing.
The state is almost dead

Mathewrichard99:
Funnily, the Ga tribe of Ghana are Migrated Yorubas during the 14th centuries ago....they are Yorubas that migrated from Ile Ife....Ibos and Yorubas.... 😂 No matter where Ibo runs to, they are always inside that small dots rigmarolling in front of the Yorubas...... 😂

gidgiddy:
If Igbos wanted to annex your so called 'Niger Delta', they could have done it even before the British came from Europe to put everyone in their disastrous colonial experiment called Nigeria. Oil is not going to help anyone, Nigeria ended up world poverty capital with all it's oil

Gambia is just a country of 2 millon people , what Igbos need is referendum to peaceful exit this British colonial creation

ALL MEDIA HOUSES

REPUBLIC OF GHANA
MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, CHIEFTAINCY AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS GA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL P.O.BOX 42 ACCRA
9TH JULY, 2025

PRESS RELEASE BY THE GA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL

The Ga Traditional Council has observed with dismay recent happenings in the Ga State surrounding an Igbo King by name EZE DR. CHUKWUDI JUDE 'NENE* who has accorded himself King of the Igbos in Ghana.

At an emergency meeting held at the Ga Traditional Council on the 9th day of July, 2025 presided over by the President, KING TACKLE TEIKO TSURU II- Ga Mantse and all members, the understated were resolved unanimously:

i) The Ga Traditional Council disassociates itself from all activities of the said EZE DR. CHUKWUDI JUDE IHENETU

ii) The Council has never recognized anybody or person as a King of Igbos within the Ga State.

iii) Recognition of persons and their induction at the Ga Traditional Council has always been conditional upon entry of one's name in the National Register of Chiefs. The Ga Traditional Council is a creation of Statue.

iv) EZE DR. CHUKWUDI JUDE IHENETU should henceforth cease and desist from holding himself out as a King of the Igbos in the Ga State by way of performing any traditional activity.

v) All assigned Paramount and Divisional Chiefs installed by EZE DR. CHUKWUDI JUDE IlFENETU should also henceforth cease and desist from holding themselves out as such within the Ga State

vi) All Traditional and Cultural festivities under the guise of importing Igbo culture presided over by EZE DR. CHUKWUDI JUDE IHENETU in his capacity as King of the Igbos in the Ga State should cease forthwith.

The Ga Traditional Council wishes to assure the entire General Public that we Gas are a peaceful people and welcome all tribes, communities and people of other nations into the Ga State on condition that they respect the Ga Traditions and customs.

Any person(s) who disrespect these directives with intent to disrupt the peace of the Ga State shall be dealt with by law.

Our goodwill and respect for other tribes and people of other nations should not be taken for granted.

EVELYN AMEWOTSE REGISTRAR FOR: PRESIDENT

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, in a rare newspaper advertisement, has applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s transformative leadership.

Dangote commended Tinubu for addressing ocean surges and flooding in Victoria Island, as well as for building a new Atlantic city and expanding the country’s infrastructure by simultaneously embarking on the construction of the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry superhighways.

The advert, an honest assessment of President Tinubu’s leadership, contrasts sharply with opposition claims that the president has achieved nothing in the past two years.

9jatriot:
This is still neither here non there. In the last video, you said you had never met Abacha. In this clarification, it has changed to you had never met Abacha until that day.

The truth is that this would not have been an issue at all if the lamba king was not forming 'cent obi'. It was him who first told the world that he had worked for Abacha to decongest the port, no one else knew about it.

All I can see here is a bunch importers of consumption goods. To think that this is the same guy telling us from consumption to production. I wonder how he planned to it.

The Federal Government has cleared a debt of over ₦20bn and resolved a backlog of more than 200,000 passport applications inherited before the Bola Tinubu administration assumed office.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the inauguration of a new Passport Front Office under the Ministry.

He said the reforms, driven by President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, have also led to the issuance of over 3.5 million passports in less than two years.

“When we came in, there was a backlog of over 200,000 passports and nearly ₦20 billion in debt. Today, that backlog has been cleared, and the debt has been settled,” the minister said.

Out of the total passports issued since August 2023, 3,080,141 were processed locally, while 466,117 were issued in the diaspora—bringing the total to 3,546,258.

The minister attributed the success to sweeping reforms that also helped the government save over ₦1 billion annually.

He said a key move was the full automation of breeder document uploads, birth and marriage certificates, among others, which previously incurred huge costs through third-party contractors.

“This is a major reform. We no longer pay contractors for what Nigerians can upload themselves. That money stays with government now,” Tunji-Ojo said.

As part of efforts to enhance accessibility and security, the number of centres issuing enhanced e-passports has increased from 26 to 44 across Nigeria and from five to 47 in the diaspora.

All passport offices now issue harmonised, ICAO-compliant enhanced passports, replacing the previously inconsistent system that undermined Nigeria’s global credibility.

The minister also announced the upcoming launch of a central passport personalisation centre with state-of-the-art technology in August 2025.

The facility, funded by Iris Smart Technologies at no cost to the government, is expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s passport infrastructure.

Additionally, he said the country has joined the International Civil Aviation Organization Public Key Directory, enabling global authentication of Nigerian passports.

Reinforcing the government’s commitment to digital transformation and national security, Tunji-Ojo disclosed that beginning July 31, all applications for Special Expatriate Permits and Temporary Work Permits must be processed online.

“Manual processing will no longer be allowed. We must have the data, biometrics, and documentation of every applicant for national security,” he said.

The reforms, the minister noted, are aimed at delivering transparent, secure, and citizen-friendly services while eliminating waste and inefficiencies within the system.

Kenneth Okonkwo, a former spokesperson for Peter Obi and now a member of the opposition coalition, has predicted that President Bola Tinubu will retain power in 2027 if the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presents a southern candidate like Obi as its presidential flag bearer.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Tuesday, the actor-turned-lawyer argued that to unseat Tinubu, the opposition must rally behind a strong northern contender with national appeal.

“My strategy this time around is that I am going to support a northerner in 2027,” Okonkwo said.

“It must be a northerner that the whole north is willing to support.

“If the whole north is willing to support an Atiku, why not?

“If the whole north is willing to support a Tambuwal, why not? The person must be qualified, and if he has experience in the presidency, it is an added advantage, and when he puts up something from the south, that will push him through,” he added.

Okonkwo, who served as one of the lead spokesmen for Obi during the 2023 presidential election, severed ties with the Labour Party in July 2024, citing internal crises and Obi’s failure to resolve them.

President Tinubu, who defeated Obi and Atiku in the 2023 general election, assumed office in May 2023 and is expected to seek re-election in 2027. His presidency followed an eight-year tenure by Muhammadu Buhari, a northern leader from the North-West, continuing Nigeria’s informal practice of rotating power between the northern and southern regions.

While Tinubu, a southerner from Lagos State, eyes a second term, Okonkwo believes the opposition must be strategic to stand a chance.

“Tinubu has become incurably bad and we want to terminate his incumbency,” he said.

“Anybody telling you it’s injustice if the north comes in, if the south comes in, and whoever wins in a primary election will take it for four years. Where is the injustice? It has happened before.

“Anybody telling you to bring a fresh southerner to compete against Tinubu, a southerner, is trying to tell you to zone the ticket to Tinubu and Tinubu will win outright,” Okonkwo concluded.

He said since the APC is presenting Tinubu to be its flag bearer, the opposition coalition must present a northerner to challenge him.

“If you bring somebody from the Southeast, even if he wins, they will steal it from him.

“Let me tell you the strategy that will make the Southeast man to be president. Do you know the South-West has never contested an election against an incumbent? Strategy? Because they know that in Nigeria, if you don’t have the establishment supporting you, even if you win, they will steal it from you.

“Peter Obi won the election in 2023, and they stole it from us. If you do it again, they will steal it from him because there is no incumbent to back you, but if you bring somebody from the north, nobody will prevail on him to leave his victory because he is not from the same side as you,” he said.

Anambra, Imo top list of UTME exam malpractice centres — JAMB

Data released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board during its 2025 policy meeting on Tuesday revealed that Computer-Based Test Centres in Imo and Anambra states topped the list of CBT Centres nabbed for fingerprinting malpractices.

In total, about 19 centres were nabbed nationwide, with Anambra having six, Imo with four, Abia with one, Edo with one, Kano with two centres, Ebonyi, Delta, Kaduna, Rivers and Enugu with one centre each.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, during his presentation, also noted that impersonators also made use of albinos for the purpose of image bending and remote uploads, among others.

Meanwhile, the police have arraigned two persons before the Federal High Court in Katsina for alleged impersonation and examination malpractice.

The police prosecutor, Abdussalam Danmaidaki, said the defendants, Bolanwu Emmanuel and Ibrahim Abdulaziz, committed the offence on April 30 at Zee Alpha International School, Funtua.
Danmaidaki said that Emmanuel invited Abdulaziz into the exam hall to impersonate him and sit for the 2025 UTME, JAMB examination on his behalf with registration number 2025515278JA.

The prosecutor said that the offence was punishable under sections 4(2)(a) and (b), and 4(3)(c) of the Examination Malpractice Act, Cap E15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He also said that Abdulaziz unlawfully and fraudulently presented himself as a UTME candidate and wrote the said exam under the same name as Emmanuel with registration number 2025515278JA.

He said that the offence was punishable under sections 3(1)(a) and (b), and 3(2)(c) of the exam malpractice Act, Cap E15 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor prayed to the court to allow time for him to present witnesses.

The presiding judge, Justice Hussaini Dadan-Garba, adjourned the case to July 18 for trial and presentation of witnesses by the prosecution.